It starts simply enough. You have a few friends over for diner and then decide to do a vertical tasting. The friends brought the appetizers. So we decided that we would start with something white. Not just any white, but a Burgundy. And not just any Burgundy.
We opened the night with 2002 William Fervre Chablis Bourgeois and Fourchames. Both of these regions are renowned for their quality of wine. The Kimmeridigian clay/chalk soil makes these wines very minerally and brings out much of the fruit flavor. The high acidity and use of neutral oak make these a long-lived wine. Just now , they are coming into their own. The long finish and incredibly smooth nature was tempting m e to drink these all night long and with nothing else.
But then we said, okay, it’s Valentines, we need something pink and red. The pink was Oriel Femme Fatale 2007, a mix of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. Talk about an amazing Rose. Bordeaux is not really known for Roses produces this gem. It has amazing depth of flavor, strawberry cherry and small hints of cranberry. The dry finish makes this a wine that pairs well with food.
Okay, so what about the food, we had small balls of rice with Fontina cheese inside, hot artichoke dip, lollipop sushi, and one other thing that escapes me. The white and Rose worked well with these items. We then sat down to seared shrimp topped with Kubota squash soap, then red and yellow beat ravioli,crown roast of pork stuffed with wild rice and dried fruit, red currant glazed Cornish game hens, roasted heirloom carrots (yellow, tan, purple) and a few orange ones as well. By the way, orange carrots are relatively a new thing, just few hundred years old.
For dessert we had chocolate pots du creme with caramel sauce and fresh whipped cream. And fresh strawberries.
But back to the wine. Because the main goal of the night was to do a vertical tasting of cain 5. We were missing a few years, having enjoyed a random bottle or two. So we started at 1999 with a bottle of Cain Cuvee. This is also a red blend from the winery on Spring Mountain. Cain Cuvee is a wine that is made with the juice that does not make it into the Cain 5 or Cain Concept. For a wine that was basically ten plus yeas old, it was very fruit forward with black and red fruit coupled with cinnamon and oak notes. It was a great way to get us in the mood for the main event.
Cain 5 is a wine that is made just like a French Bordeaux, blending Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Each year the blend changes. We used breathable glass for this as we wanted the wines to decant very rapidly. More on breathable glass later.
We started with the 1992. Lots of Cabernet and Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Interestingly enough, this wine had a lot of fruit and was starting to get a hint of age. But the nose and taste had a lot of green bell pepper. A sort of stemminess from the wine making process. We then moved to the 1994, which was similar in taste and the blend was almost identical.
The big turn came at 1995. Here the fruit was very upfront and the acid was balanced and the oak was very evident.It was smooth like the other wines, and tasted like something special. Then came the 1996. The big change was that the amount of Petit Verdot went from 2-4% in all of the others leapt to 19%. This was a stunning wine. The kind that you wish you had a case of. Unfortunately for us, we had only a single bottle. The luscious black fruit was tempered by cherry and toasty oak. Wow.
We then jumped to 2001. This was still a young tasting wine. Very fruit forward and loaded with acid. This was a wine that needs a few years to age and will reward the faithful in a few years. We never made it to the 2003, 2004 and 2005. We will save those for another day.
Soon we will go back and try the rest. These wines are incredibly and pair so well with food. Especially the crown roast of pork.
I did want to mention that with dessert, we had some Iron Horse Brut Rose Champagne. This was perfect with the chocolate and the sparkler brought out the tastes of the strawberries as well.
So if you can find a wine you like and start building a library, give it proper cellaring, you too can Uncork Happiness. What an amazing night.
